GOOD Statement by Brett Herron,
GOOD Secretary-General & City of Cape Town Mayoral Candidate
05 July 2026
In July 2017, in my capacity as City of Cape Town Mayco member for Transport and Urban Development, I announced the identification of 10 City-owned sites in the inner city, Salt River and Woodstock “to be used for affordable housing”.
“Where people live matters,” I said. “We must acknowledge that, to date, our efforts to radically transform Cape Town’s spatial reality to enable all of our residents to participate more equally in the local economy have fallen short.”
The date is noteworthy, because in May 2017 housing advocacy groups Ndifuna Ukwazi and Reclaim the City had launched an application in the Western Cape High Court to overturn the sale by then-Premier Helen Zille of the Tafelberg School site in Sea Point.
Last week, these matters collectively returned to haunt the City when the Constitutional Court finally reversed the Province’s Tafelberg plans and ordered the Province and City to submit a report to the court on its affordable housing plans and delivery record.
The fact is that ZERO affordable homes have been delivered in the inner city since 2017. By 2018 it was clear that conservatives in the DA’s City caucus were intent on blocking housing integration, which led to a number of us – led by then-Mayor Patricia De Lille – resigning and establishing the GOOD Party.
All that the City has delivered is repeated hot air. Our 2017 projects have been cancelled, reannounced, launched, reannounced yet again… endlessly. Lots of photo opportunities, but still zero bricks on the ground.
In this context, for the City of Cape Town to respond to being severely castigated by the Constitutional Court by claiming that it has made “undeniable progress” not only fails to read the room: It is a slap in the court’s face, and spit in the face of all Capetonians who care about equality, justice, and a sustainable future.
Where is this undeniable progress? Rather than take ownership of its decisions and admit it has not delivered a single affordable home in the inner city and surrounding areas over the past eight years, and commit itself to remedying its inaction, the City statement reverts to the smoke and mirrors of thousands of units “entering construction this year” – with a pipeline of many thousands more to follow.
The shape of Cape Town was designed by white men in black hats to forcibly “cleanse” the most desirable areas of people of colour. The network of suburbs and ghettoes they created have never been dismantled. For 50 and 60 years the planners’ work has remained intact.
After effectively being found guilty by the ConCourt of being apartheid apologists, Cape Town’s smarmy PR is inappropriate and embarrassing.
Media Enquiries: media@forgood.org.za